Science Quest 2024: creativity and innovation to solve national challenges

The Piton State College, Forest Side SSS (Boys), and St Andrew’s College stood out during the 9th edition of the Science Quest. This annual competition, organized by the MCB-sponsored Rajiv Gandhi Science Institute (RGSC) since 2010, appeals to the innovation and creativity of high school students. The projects presented have, for the most part, highlighted that students are not only aware of current problems but also the issues of sustainable development in the long term. Many projects focused on the issue of climate change, the importance of renewable energies in reducing dependence on fossil fuels, and the need for recycling and composting waste. The prize-giving ceremony occurred on Friday, 24th May, at the Cote D’or National Complex. 

93 projects from 54 schools selected

Secondary schools submitted 115 projects this year. The jury chose 93 of them, from 54 schools. Several socio-scientific and technological issues impacting the country were discussed, including dengue, leptospirosis, and flooding. For nearly four months, about 500 students worked as a team, under the supervision of a teacher, to develop scientific projects competing in creativity, innovation, and audacity.

And the winners are

First category (Grades 7, 8 et 9): St Andrew’s College with the project Green Ride

St. Andrew’s College was recognized for its Green Ride project, which focuses on reducing fossil fuel consumption. Their idea is a hydraulic bus which operates with the force of pressurized water. This ambitious project, which delighted the jury, was ahead of those of Modern and Reet’s colleges, awarded for their projects Bio-Economic Production of Banana and Mushroom and From Concrete to Sponge Cities: mitigating flash floods, respectively.

Second category (Grades 10 et 11): Forest Side SSS Boys with A more efficient and all weather generator.

The Forest Side SSS (Boys) students distinguished themselves with their “more efficient and all-weather generator” project. It fosters wind energy production thanks to a revolutionary system consisting of two propellers rotating in opposite directions. Hindu Girls took second place with an idea called Promoting the sustainable production of fuel, which will reduce dependence on fossil fuels. Nelson College ranked third in the same category with their project Develop and evaluate a supervised machine learning model for Cambridge Examinations Forecast Grade.

Third Category( Grades 12& 13 ) Piton SC The Flood Monitoring Platform

The FloodVision - The Flood Monitoring Platform project, designed by Piton State College, won the jury in the third category, rewarding the upper-class students. The students devised an alert system to warn the population of rising water levels caused by flooding. Thanks to sensors placed on the roads, this warning system can warn of rising waters and send them in real-time to a website. The winner of this category is followed by the Adventist college with the EcoFLUX project: Dynamic Wireless Charging of Electric Vehicles and the Patten College Girls, who showed imagination with An optimal permeable concrete with an intelligent rainwater harvesting system at school.

The award-winning colleges and the accompanying teachers on the project were left with prizes totalling Rs 250,000 and trophies, all offered by MCB.